A Child's Hero
by Fantom Of The Fiction
Summary: 7 year old Phil Coulson finally meets his hero, Captain America.


**A/N: This fic is slightly AU. Phil is an eight year old boy during the time before Captain America was frozen.**

. . . . . . . . . .

Phil Coulson sat in his living room listening to the radio and flipping through his Captain America trading cards.

"_Have you always wanted to serve your country? Is someone you know serving in the Army right now? Do you want to meet Captain America?" _Phil turned the radio up, listening intently, _"If the answer to any of these is yes, then you're in luck! On Tuesday, June seventeenth, Captain America himself will be coming to Boston to perform a show! Tickets are fifty cents each. The performance starts at seven pm, and if you get there early, you'll get preferred seating! Young men will be available to sign up for the Army at…"_

He didn't hear the rest of the broadcast, as he was already running to his mother's room. He knocked on the door, opened it, and jumped up on her bed, "Mama, mama! Captain America is coming to town to do a show! Can we go see it? Pleeeaase? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" Phil squealed.

"When is he coming?" she asked her eight year old son.

"Um… Oh! Tuesday the…" Phil counted on his small fingers, "Seventeenth! Mama, can we go please?"

"Hmm… How much does it cost?"

"Fifty cents."

"_Fifty cents?_ Oh, Phil, I don't know. That's an awful lot of money."

"But… it's Captain America…" Phil said sadly as his shoulders slumped.

"Oh honey, I know how much you like Captain America, but we just can't afford it."

"But I've been saving my allowance! I have thirty-two cents in my piggy bank."

"But you need eighteen more cents to pay for it, and I can't let you go alone, which means we'd have to spend a whole dollar. I'm sorry Phil, but the answer is no." she said sternly.

Phil sighed sadly and jumped off of her bed. He dragged his feet down the hallway and went into his bedroom. Lying on his bed, he looked at his Captain America poster he had gotten for his birthday, "You're my hero, Captain America. I'm going to meet you someday, no matter what my mom says."

He grabbed his Captain America trading cards off of his bed side table and flipped through them as he had done many times before. He held up his favorite one, Number Ten, the one of Captain America saluting, "If I ever meet you, I want you to sign my cards."

. . .

Phil walked along the streets of Boston a few days later, looking around at all of the posters of Captain America that had been put up in almost every shop window in town. The newest edition of the Captain America comic books was supposed to have come out today, and he was heading to the Comic Book store to buy one. He only had his thirty-two cents with him, and he hoped so much that he would have enough.

He made his way into the store and up to the counter, "Excuse me, sir?" he asked the clerk, "Is the newest edition of Captain America out yet?"

"Ah, you're in luck. We just got our new shipment in the other hour. Let me go get them." The elderly man said as he walked to the back room. He came out a moment later with a flimsy comic book in his hands, "Here you are, boy. That'll be forty cents please."

"Oh…" Phil looked down at the change in his hands, "I've only got thirty-two…"

"Sorry then boy, come back when you've got the money."

Phil's lip began to quiver as his eyes started to tear up.

"Now now, don't cry. I'm sure the books will still be here when you get the money." The man tried to calm him.

"Alright, thank you, sir." Phil said quietly and made his way out the doors.

He kept his eyes downcast, trying not to let the tears spill over. Oh, how he wanted the comic book. He sniffled, _'Come on Phil. Captain America doesn't cry when things like this happen! Be like him. Be strong and brave.'_ He thought to himself. He wiped his nose on his sleeve and held his head high. It didn't last long, though. Soon enough, he was dragging his feet again and kept his eyes on the ground.

Through his tears, he almost didn't see the shine of a coin on the ground. He bent down and picked it up, "A quarter! I found a whole quarter!" he exclaimed cheerfully, "Oh, I'm going to be able to buy my comic book now!" he quickly ran back to the store and up to the counter.

"Back so soon, are we?" the clerk asked.

"Yes! And I have enough money now. I have a whole quarter!" he put the quarter on the counter and counted out fifteen cents from the rest of his coins, "Is this forty cents?"

The man counted the coins, "Yes it is. I'm guessing you still want that comic book, now don't you?"

"Yes, yes! Please!" he said, nearly jumping out of his pants.

"All right, here you are. I hope you enjoy this one. Captain America sure is full of surprises. Did you hear that he'll be here in our town in just two days?" the clerk winked and handed Phil the comic book.

"Yeah, and I'm going to try my hardest to meet him! Thank you so much, sir!" Phil said happily as he took the book and ran home.

Once he was home, he raced past his mother in the kitchen and into his room. Hopping onto his bed, he started to read.

. . .

"Phillip, it's time for dinner!" his mother called from the kitchen.

Phil reluctantly closed his book and went to eat. Sitting down, he started to talk about his hero's newest adventure, "And then _zoom_! He sent Hitler flying off into space on a rocket. It's the coolest thing I've ever read! Mama, you should read it, too!"

His mother smiled, "I should, eh? I thought you didn't like people to touch your comic books."

"Well that's true. But because you're my mama, I'll let you touch my comic books. I just don't want Maria to. She's a girl and girls have cooties." He made a dramatically disgusted face.

"But I'm a girl, aren't?" his mother asked.

"No, you're a mom. Mom's aren't girls, silly!" Phil laughed, and his mother laughed along with him.

"Are you finished eating, darling?"

"Yeah I am. Can I go back to reading my book?" he asked hopefully.

"After you put your dishes in the sink."

Phil got out of his chair immediately and put his plate and cup in the sink, "All done, can I go now?"

His mother laughed, "Yes, you can. Have fun!" she called after his retreating figure.

. . .

Phil turned on the radio and listened intently, waiting to hear anything about the war. His father was a general in the 107th in the war, and they hadn't heard from him in a few months. Phil would sometimes see his mother crying, but he didn't know why. His dad was going to come home in a few months like he had promised. His dad never breaks his promises.

"…_and one lucky boy or girl can get a chance to personally meet Captain America on the seventeenth of this month. All they have to do is send in a letter in to Captain America's management in the war department telling him why he is their hero. The one who sends in the best letter will win! The address can be found on the back cover of Captain America's most recent comic book issue. But hurry! The due date for the letter is the tenth!"_

Phil's eyes lit up, _'This could be it! I if I could send in a good enough letter, I could meet Captain America!'_ he thought as his mind immediately started racing, thinking of what he could write in his letter. He just _had_ to meet Captain America, and if writing a letter to him was going to do it, then he'd do it!

He ran to his room and to his desk, pulling out a pencil and piece of paper. He sat down and began to think, _'Why is Captain America my hero?'_

. . . . .

"Steve, are you sure you want to read all of these by yourself?" Peggy questioned him as she set two bags of letters at Steve's feet.

"Yes. They're my fans and I want to really know what they have to say. How would you feel if you sent in a letter to your hero and he didn't respond?"

Peggy rolled her eyes, "Steve, they're not going to know whether or not you read their letter. We'll just pick a letter out at random."

"Peggy, these are my fans. I _want_ to do this, and I'm sorry, but nothing you say can or will change my mind."

She pursed her lips, "Can I trust that you know what you're doing?"

"They're just letters. It's not exactly an intricate strategy designed to fight off warlords. I think I can handle it." He assured her.

"Well, we'll see just how well you can handle over one thousand letters by yourself, then."

"Wait, over one thousand? I thought there would only be at least a few hundred…"

"Then you'd best get to work then, shouldn't you?" she walked out of the room, leaving a very stunned Steve Rogers to read his fanmail.

"Guess I'd better get started." He sighed.

. . .

Steve was about halfway through the letters and had gotten too many papercuts. He opened up another one, read it, and put it into the "Possible" pile of letters. He grabbed another one, read it, and tossed it into the "Not possible" pile.

He hadn't even received this many letters when he was just Steve Rogers, the ordinary boy who wanted to join the Army someday. He dug his hand into one of the sacks of letters and pulled out another letter. On the back, there was a drawing of Captain America that resembled one of the trading cards of him saluting. He opened up the envelope, careful not to rip the drawing in the process. He looked at all the crossed out sentences and scribbles, trying to decipher what it said.

"_Captain America is my hero because he's __strong __big and brave! His __uniform__costume__ uniform is just like the American Flag and it shows how patriotic he is. He's knocked out Hitler more times __then__ than I can count! He's not afraid of anything and he's just like my dad that way. My dad is a general in the 107__th__ and he hasn't come home yet but I know he will. He's probably just busy killing Nazis! _

_My mom told me that we can't afford to see Captain America's show because it's too __esp__ekspensive__ expensive. I saved up my allowance and then found a quarter so I went and __buyed__ bought Captain America's newest comic book! It was my favorite one yet because of how he sent Hitler flying off into space on a rocket! _

_Captain America taught me how to stand up for myself when people bully me. It doesn't happen a lot anymore because I fight like Captain America! I even have a shield that I made out of cardboard that looks just like his shield! _

_My mom is calling me for lunch now and I have to stop writing the letter._

_Captain America is the best!"_

"Steve, have you chosen a letter yet?" Peggy asked as she walked into the room.

"Yes, I believe I have." He handed her the letter.

"But you've still got half a bag of letters left and this one barely even talks about how you're his hero. Why are you so sure about this one?"

"The boy's an underdog like I was. I know that if I was in his place, I would want Captain America to choose me. His said that his father is a general in the 107th and that he hasn't heard from him in a while, which means that he's probably MIA."

"Steve, there are dozens of fathers who have gone MIA. What makes this one so different?"

"To be honest Peggy, I don't know. I just feel like he's going to be important one day, you know? Haven't you ever gotten that feeling?"

"Yes, actually, I have," she sighed.

"And you were right, weren't you?"

"I suppose I was, considering that he's now the world's first super soldier. All right, I'll send a congratulatory letter to the boy. What did you say his name was?"

"Oh, I didn't check. Here, give me the letter." He held his hand out and she placed the letter onto it, "Phil Coulson."

. . . . .

Phil was sitting on his front porch, eagerly waiting for the mail to be delivered. The letter was supposed to come today to whoever won the contest, and he was hoping so badly that it was him. He jumped up as someone walked past his house, but sat down again as he realized that it was only someone taking a walk. He opened his front door a crack and called to his mother, "Mama, today is the thirteenth, right?"

"Yes, Phil. For the tenth time, it is the thirteenth."

"What time is the mail supposed to come?"

"I already told you, it comes at twelve. It's eleven thirty now. Why don't you go play with Nick next door? That'll help you pass the time."

Phil groaned, "Fiiine. I'm going to Nick's house now, then." He shut the door and walked next door.

He stepped up to the front door and knocked. He waited a moment and someone opened the door, "Hello Mrs. Fury, is Nick home?"

"Oh hello, Phil. Yes he is, would you like to come inside?" she opened the door to let him in.

"Yes, thank you." He stepped into the house.

"Nicky, Phil is here to see you," she called down the hall, "He's in his room."

"Thank you Mrs. Fury!" Phil said as he ran down the hall and into Nick's room, "Nick!"

"Hi Phil!" Nick said happily, "Come play Super Heroes with me."

Phil sat down on the carpet next to his friend, "What are your Super Heroes doing?"

"They're fighting aliens from a different world! This one," he held up a green action figure with gold horns, "Let them in to destroy the world. The Super Heroes have to kill the aliens. Here, you can be Captain America because you like him a lot." Nick handed Phil a Captain America action figure.

"You got the action figure?! When? How?" he exclaimed.

"My cousin Morgan got it for me. He's really into them. Come on, let's play!"

The two boys played with the action figures for hours, creating different battles and making background stories for all of them. The boys had lost track of time, and before they knew it, Phil had to go home for dinner.

"Bye Phil! I hope you get to meet Captain America." Nick said as he walked Phil to the door.

"Oh, gosh! I completely forgot! My letter was supposed to come at twelve! I have to get home now. Thanks for having my over, bye!" Phil raced home, burst through his front door, and into the kitchen.

There, on the kitchen table, sat a lone letter. Phil walked up to it cautiously, his heart pounding in his ears. As he got closer, he saw his name printed on the envelope. He reached out to it slowly, hoping that it was what he thought. Picking up the letter, he read that it was sent from "Captain America War Department." He immediately ripped it open and read the letter.

"_Congratulations, __Phil Coulson__,_

_Your letter has been chosen! On Thursday, June Seventeenth, you will be able to personally meet Captain America. Bring the enclosed ticket with you and show it to the ticket vendor. After the show, you will meet Captain America backstage._

_Thank you for your submission."_

Phil screamed and took the ticket out of the envelope. It had a picture of Captain America on it with the words "Every bond you guy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy's gun!"

"I see you found that letter," his mother said as she entered the kitchen.

"Mama, I did it! My letter was chosen! I get to meet Captain America!"

"How many tickets did they give you?"

"Just one, enough for me!"

"You still can't go alone, you know."

Phil's face turned pale, "But…"

"But you know what?"

"What?"

"Since you did all of this just to meet Captain America, I'm going to let you go. I'll pay for my own ticket." She smiled.

Phil beamed, "Oh, thank you, mama!" he hugged her tightly.

"Alright, Phil dear. Come on, time for supper." She laughed.

. . .

"Come on mama, we've gotta go!" Phil shouted into his mother's room.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she laughed at how excited he was. She was rather excited, too. Aside from meeting a celebrity, she was also going to be meeting a handsome man in a tight costume, "Do you have everything?" she asked, putting Phil's letter and ticket into her purse.

"I do! Oh, wait! I need to get my cards." He ran into his room and grabbed his cards. He took a good look around to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything else. When he was sure he hadn't, he ran back to his mother, "I got everything! Let's go, let's go!"

Phil and his mother left the house and hailed a taxi, "Boston Common, please."

Phil couldn't sit still. He kept bouncing in his seat, convinced that he would explode from all the excitement, "Mama, I'm going to ask Captain America to sign my trading cards. Do you think he will?"

"Of course he will, darling. Don't you worry." She assured him.

Phil's smile got wider, "How much longer?"

"Oh, about ten minutes. Think you can wait that long?"

"I'm not sure I can wait that long, but I'll try!"

At last, the taxi stopped in front of a theatre. Phil's mother paid the taxi driver and stepped out of the car.

"Mama, hurry!"

His mother took his hand as they walked into the theatre, "Excuse me sir, my son won the Captain America letter contest. I have his ticket right here." She handed him the ticket.

The man looked at the ticket for a moment, "Ah, yes. Follow me, please." He led them into the theatre and up to the front row, which had a sign that read "Reserved."

"Is that my seat?" Phil asked hopefully, pointing to the middle seat in the front row.

"You won the contest, didn't you?" Phil nodded his head, "Then of course it's for you, lad!"

Phil jumped into to the large seat and made himself comfortable. His mother sat down next to him and the lights faded. Phil squealed.

The curtains opened as the lights came up. The Star Spangled Banner girls were formed in a V. Music started playing and Captain America himself entered from behind a red curtain.

"Who's strong and brave, here to save the American Way?" the girls sang.

"Not all of us can storm a beach, or drive a tank. But there's still a way all of us can fight." Captain America told the audience.

"Who vows to fight like a man for what's right night and day?"

"Series E Defense Bonds: Each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy's gun."

The dancers formed lines and marched, swinging their arms back and forth, "Who will campaign door-to-door for America, carry the flag shore to shore for America, from Hoboken to Spokane, The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!"

"We can't ignore there's a threat and a war we must win, and each bond you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy's gun." He said again and walked offstage.

"Who'll hang a noose on the goose-stepping goons from Berlin? Who will redeem, head the call for America, who'll rise or fall, give his all for America, who's here to prove that we can? The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!" the dancers walked offstage and soon came back on carrying small American Flags. They treated a T shape and Captain America walked through them and to the front of the stage.

As he spoke, the girls made a line, "We all know this is about trying to win the war. We can't do that without bullets and bandages, tanks and tents," as he spoke, Hitler snuck behind the line of dancers, holding a gun, "That's where you come in," he pointed to Phil, "Every bond you buy helps protect someone you love."

Phil, along with the rest of the children in the audience, stood up and started to shout, "Turn around! He's right behind you! Look out!"

"We want boys armed and ready, Germany will think twice about trying to drop a bomb on us." He turned around just in time to punch Hitler, knocking him to the ground. The audience cheered.

The dancers formed a can-can line, and Captain America joined in, "Stalwart and steady and true, forceful and ready to defend the Red, White, and Blue! Who'll give the Axis the sack, and is smart as a fox?" he ducked out of the can-can line and behind the mid curtain and a line of drummers walked out from offstage.

"Who's making Adolph afraid to step out of his box? Who walked the giant that napped in America? We know it's no-one but Captain America, Who'll finish what they began? Who'll kick the Krauts to Japan?"

The mid curtain opened to even more dancers surrounding Captain America who was holding a white motorcycle above his head with three dancers sitting on it. Phil had never seen so many dancers in his whole life. A large red, white, and blue sparkly star was behind them with a projection of war planes flying.

"The Star Spangled Man with a Plan!"

Cannons shot off red, white, and blue swirls of confetti as the curtain closed and the audience cheered. Phil stood up and clapped and cheered with all his might.

. . . . .

"I don't think I've ever heard an audience cheer that loud before, Steve. Great show tonight, great show." His manager congratulated him with a pat on the back.

"Thanks, Carl. When and where am I going to meet Phil Coulson?" he asked.

"Just a few more minutes. I'll go get him and his mother. Wait here, alright?" Carl left to shout out Phil and his mom.

. . .

Carl approached Phil, who hadn't stopped jumping since the morning, "Are you Phil Coulson?" he asked.

"Yes! Can I meet Captain America now?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes you can, follow me." he led them backstage.

Phil had his cards ready in his pocket. He had never been this excited for anything in his life. He turned a corner and almost fainted. There, standing before him, was Captain America. He was just how he had imagined him to be. Tall, muscular, and covered in red, white, and blue.

Captain America turned to him, "Hello, you must be Phil Coulson. I'm Captain America," he knelt to Phil's height and held out his hand. Phil stared at his monstrous hand, "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you."

Ignoring his outstretched hand, Phil flew into Captain America's arms, giving him a tight hug, "You're my hero, Captain America." He told him.

Captain America hugged him back, "Do I've heard. Did you enjoy the show?" he asked as Phil let go of him.

"Yes! It was so cool! And when you punched Hitler? Oh gosh, I didn't think for a second that you would let him hurt you. After all, you're Captain America!"

"Hitler is a sneaky man, you know. But I won't let him hurt us. Do you know why?"

"Why?" Phil asked in wonder.

"Because there are people like you," he put his finger to Phil's chest, "That are here to protect us. You know, when I read your letter, I felt like we had a connection. You say that you've been bullied, right?"

"Yeah, I have. Some kids at school like to push me around. But I learned how to fight them off from reading your comic books!"

"You know, even the best people in the world have been bullied. I was bullied a lot when I was younger, did you know that?"

"What? You were?" Phil was shocked.

"I was. I was beaten up in alleys and picked on because I was so thin and didn't have a lot of muscle. But I didn't care that people didn't like me. I got beat up sometimes because I stood up for something that was right."

"You were skinny? How did you get so big, then?"

"I joined the Army," he winked, "Will you join the Army one day?"

"Maybe. My friend Nick and I want to be in charge of a Super Hero Organization one day. We're going to call it Shield!"

"Oh? And what does Shield stand for?"

"We don't know that yet. We just know that we're going to!"

"Well I wish you the best of luck with that, Phil. Do you want to take a picture with me?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" he said excitedly.

"Would you like to sit on my shoulders?"

Phil's eyes went almost as wide as his mouth did.

"I'll take that as a yes." Captain America laughed. He picked Phil up and placed him on his shoulders, "Smile for the cameras, Phil."

Phil smiled bigger than he ever had before, and so did Captain America. The camera flashed and Captain America lifted Phil off of his shoulders and placed him on the ground.

"Captain America, can you sign my trading cards?" Phil asked as he took his cards out of his pocket.

"Of course I will. Um- Does anyone have a pen?"

Carl handed him a pen and he signed each of Phil's cards. On the one of him saluting, he wrote:

"Phil – One day, I hope to be a part of Shield with you. – Captain America"

. . . . . . . . . .

**A/N: I literally thought of this last night while I was in the shower. I'm sorry if it's lacking any meat, I started it last night and I had only a little bit planned out, so I just made it up as I went along.**


End file.
